After splitting the weekend at the Wake Forest Tournament, Illinois baseball (2-2) will now head south. The team will be in Hattiesburg, Mississippi to face the #18 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (4-0) for a three-game series. This will be the first time in history that Illinois has faced Southern Miss.
By the way, there is a good reason that Southern Miss is ranked #18. They are 4-0 and have outscored their opponents by a formidable 24-3 margin.
On the mound…
Friday: Riley Gowens
Saturday: Jack Crowder
Sunday: Jack Wenninger
All three of these starters had excellent starts during the first weekend in Winston-Salem. Both Riley Gowens and Jack Wenninger threw 11 strikeouts, career highs for the two of them.
Jack Crowder walked six batters but kept tough Wake Forest to just one run on one hit.
Nice work, hurlers!!
The Matchup
 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles |
| 4-0 |
| Friday 6pm CT Saturday 12pm CT Sunday 2pm CT |
The complete schedule for the weekend can be found at the Fighting Illini website.
Last weekend highlights:
Illinois won their first two games against the Youngstown State Penguins before dropping the last two to #6 Wake Forest.
Aside from the aforementioned pitching efforts, there were plenty of offensive heroics.
Branden Comia and Danny Doligale bolstered Gowens pitching performance by contributing a homer apiece in Friday’s win.
In Saturday’s win against the Penguins, Camden Janik and Jacob Schroeder both hit dingers. Schroeder’s homer broke a 2-2 tie in the 6th inning and gave the Illini a lead which they would not relinquish.
Cam McDonald’s homerun served to be the only run in Illinois’ last game against Wake Forest.
Overall, Danny Doligale had a five-tool weekend. While we know he has speed, he is showing he can hit (5 for 14) and hit for some power (a double and a homer). He also walked six times which is what we want our leadoff guy to do.
And check these guys out who are showing what they have:
- Camden Janik (5 for 15, HR)
- Ryan Moerman (4 for 13, two 2B, team-high 5 rbi)
- Jacob Schroeder (3 for 10, HR, 3 rbi)
Random Ramblings
Branden Comia extended his on-base streak this past weekend. He’s at 44 games going back to last season.
Big Ten TV Schedule
The Big Ten Network will broadcast Illinois four baseball games in 2023.
Here are the dates:
Date Opponent Time Network
April 1 vs. Michigan TBA BTN
April 2 vs. Michigan 1:30 p.m. CT BTN
April 14 vs. Indiana 7:00 p.m. CT BTN
April 23 vs. Minnesota 1:00 p.m. CT BTN
As for me, I’m ready for some baseball at Illinois Field! Looking at the schedule, the home opener is just over two weeks away when the Illini take on Indiana State on March 14th.
Go Illini!